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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Tube employees vote for strike | Tube employees vote for strike |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Hundreds of Tube workers have voted in favour of industrial action in a row over employment, a union has said. | Hundreds of Tube workers have voted in favour of industrial action in a row over employment, a union has said. |
| Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members, employed by maintenance firm Metronet, voted by 750 to 60 in favour of strike action. | Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members, employed by maintenance firm Metronet, voted by 750 to 60 in favour of strike action. |
| The RMT, which is angry at plans to transfer staff into parent firms, will announce its next steps shortly. | The RMT, which is angry at plans to transfer staff into parent firms, will announce its next steps shortly. |
| Metronet has said any industrial action would be "unjustified and unwarranted" as discussions were ongoing. | Metronet has said any industrial action would be "unjustified and unwarranted" as discussions were ongoing. |
| The RMT said the Metronet consortium planned to break an earlier agreement by transferring workers to its parent firms. | The RMT said the Metronet consortium planned to break an earlier agreement by transferring workers to its parent firms. |
| 'Maximising profits' | 'Maximising profits' |
| The union said that if strikes went ahead, more than two-thirds of the Tube system would be crippled. | The union said that if strikes went ahead, more than two-thirds of the Tube system would be crippled. |
| Metronet is the consortium responsible for maintaining and upgrading parts of the Tube. | Metronet is the consortium responsible for maintaining and upgrading parts of the Tube. |
| RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "Our members have demonstrated their anger at Metronet reneging on an agreement they made only a year or so ago. | RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "Our members have demonstrated their anger at Metronet reneging on an agreement they made only a year or so ago. |
| "This dispute is about honouring agreements and defending our members' pay, conditions and organisation | "This dispute is about honouring agreements and defending our members' pay, conditions and organisation |
| "It is also about resisting dangerous fragmentation that our members already have too much bitter experience of." | "It is also about resisting dangerous fragmentation that our members already have too much bitter experience of." |
| Metronet said action was "not necessary" and said it had not gone back on a deal with unions. | |
| Metronet's senior vice president Mark Cooper said: "Metronet and Bombardier have made ground-breaking compromises in order to put forward a viable alternative plan. | |
| "We have been working for more than a year to resolve this issue and will continue to work with the RMT to find an acceptable solution." |